What Goes Around
by Cajun Quinn
Summary: Another installment of the Changing Times Series, this story is set in the future and focuses on the next generation of thieves and assassins. Ch.3 Uploaded! Special appearances by Gambit and Beast! Please R/R!
1. Chapter One

What Goes Around

(NOTE: I seem to be writing this series totally backwards, but who cares? This takes place in the year 2018 and there have been some major changes in the Unified Guilds. This story, rather than focusing on the current guild members, is about the next generation...six young people who really are the future of the clans. It will be up to them to prove their capability as thieves and assassins and rescue their elders from a long-thought-dead enemy who has come back to haunt them. The current guild members you recognize belong to Marvel, but they're still living in my head. I doubt they'll ever leave. Jackie and Shelby both belong to me, as do the teenagers, Cheryl, Jean-Pierre, Mattie, Sebastien, Carson and Reilly. None of them may be used without my expressed written consent, which I'm not likely to give, unless Marvel wants to use the idea, LOL. And if you guys like my new cast of characters, you just might see them again in the future. Enjoy and please don't sue, as I have no money.) 

***** 

Chapter One 

"What do I have to do to make you see, Papa? I don' wan' learn how to do dis...I'm not you!" Thirteen year old Carson Lapin exclaimed angrily before storming out of the room, leaving his father, Emil, sitting at the computer with his head in his hands. 

"Non...you sure ain'..." Emil muttered. "I can' teach your mother dis stuff either..." 

The sound of an amused chuckle in the doorway made Emil look up. He sighed as he saw his cousin, Theoren, leaning there with a bemused look on his face. Theoren was learning to appreciate the funny things in life as he got older, and seeing Emil frustrated over his son was really something to enjoy. "Problems, kiddo?" 

Emil groaned. "He's thirteen. I'm forty-two, much as I hate to admit it. An' he's drivin' me crazy!" 

Theoren laughed harder and sat down. "I know. I've been waitin' for dis since de day dat boy was born. I only have one t'ing to say to you, my dear little cousin, an' dat is dis: welcome to my life." 

"Tell me I didn' put you t'rough dis kinda stuff, Theo, please..." Emil begged. 

"Worse." Theoren grinned. "But de diff'rence is, you wanted to learn 'bout computers an' stuff." 

Emil was quiet for a few moments, considering. He cracked his quirky smile and started laughing. "I shoulda known when he was born dat if anyone's gon' be able to teach him somethin' he wants to learn, it's Jackie. An' Remy. So dat leaves me wit' Mattie, who not only looks like me, acts like me, talks like me..." 

"She's also a computer whiz jus' like you." 

Emil and Theoren looked up to see the bright cheerful smile of Emil and Jackie's fifteen-year-old daughter Mattie, who tilted her head to one side, her thick red hair cascading over her shoulder. "What were you tryin' to teach him, anyway?" she asked, her blue eyes sparkling and bright as snapped her gum and flopped down on a nearby chair. 

"How to make one of dose hackin' programs I used to make all de time." Emil explained. 

"Ah." Mattie grinned. "You mean like dis?" She got up and after her father moved away from the computer, she tapped on a few keys, and in no time flat opened a program. Codes scrolled down the screen in seconds and Mattie stood back, allowing both her father and her cousin Theo, both of whom were computer experts, to take a look. Theoren was the first to comment. 

"Mattie...did you...?" 

"Yup. It's easy. No challenge at all. I'm takin' computer courses at school, but dey're not teachin' me anythin' I don' already know so it's borin'. So I went t'rough some of Papa's old files an' taught myself how to do it. It's de first one I've tried, so dere's a few bugs in it...but maybe you guys can teach me how to fix it so it's perfect?" 

Emil looked at his daughter when he was finished reading the program. "Dis is really good for a first try, Mattie, I'm impressed. An' I'd be glad to help you fix it up." 

"T'anks Papa. I 'preciate it. What 'bout you Theo? You wan' help too?" Mattie asked. 

Theoren looked from Emil to Mattie, still amazed by how similar they were, and shook his head. "I'd love to, kiddo, but Claude an' I promised Mercy an' Zoe we'd take 'em to de mall an' it's gettin' to be dat time. May I take a look at it when you're finished, t'ough?" 

"Of course!" Mattie laughed. "Who else would give de official seal of approval?" 

"If Theo's givin' his seal of approval, it better be on somethin' de girls are buyin' at de mall." Jackie said, coming in. "Mattie, sit up straight for cryin' out loud. Theo, dey're waitin' on ya, get goin'." When Theoren left, Jackie turned to her husband. "Now. What on earth were you sayin' to Carson?" 

"Nothin', Jacks. Jus' took me awhile to get it t'rough my thick skull dat he don' wan' know much 'bout computers. I'll go talk to him, I promise." Emil replied. "Look at what our daughter did! Dis is amazin' for a first time try." 

Jackie looked at the code and sighed. "Yeah, it's amazin'." She said, ruffling her daughter's hair. "I'm very proud of you. Jus' don' ask me to explain it, b'cause I don' have a clue what I'm lookin' at." 

Mattie rolled her eyes and laughed. "Aww Mom, stop it! My hair is fine. An' it's okay. Don' worry 'bout it. Long as Papa understands it, dat's what matters." 

"I didn' come here to look at codes, Mattie. Did you forget dat you were gon' go to dat dance wit' Cheryl and J.P. tonight?" Jackie asked her daughter. 

It was Mattie's turn to sigh. She really didn't want to go. She was a bit of a loner in school, she mainly hung out with Cheryl and J.P. and the other kids in her family; her classmates tended to leave her alone. "I don' really wan' go, but J.P. said he wouldn' go if I didn', an' Cheryl refuses to go by herself, even t'ough I don' see what her problem is, so I kinda have to..." 

"Why doesn' J.P. wan' go?" Emil asked, knowing the answer before the question was asked. Jean-Pierre Alouette, the sixteen-year-old son of his best friend Genard, was as much like his father as Mattie was like Emil. He was shy. He and Mattie were very close friends, and it didn't surprise either Emil or Jackie that J.P. had claimed he wouldn't go without Mattie. 

"You know de answer to dat, Papa." Mattie replied. "I know you do, b'cause you know Genard better'n most people do. I don' see why Cheryl can' go by herself. It's not like she needs us." 

"What does dat mean?" Jackie asked. 

"Nothin'. Jus' forget it. If you see J.P. tell him to meet me in my room in fifteen minutes." Mattie said. "Papa, can we start workin' on dis tomorrow?" 

"Sure, chere, No problem. Jus' let me know when you wan' start." 

Mattie nodded and left the room. Her parents looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Jackie's strange violet-on-black eyes plainly showed how concerned she was over her daughter's behavior. "What was dat all 'bout?" 

"If she's anythin' like I was at her age...you've got nothin' to worry 'bout, mon amour. I turned out fine. She will too. Although I t'ink she an' J.P. should go to de dance for demselves, not b'cause Cheryl wants dem to go." Emil replied, giving his wife a hug. "Mattie's right, Cheryl doesn' need 'em. She's Cheryl. But I t'ink she has good intentions too, for what it's worth to de kids." 

***** 

In another area of the house, a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl threw her brush across her bedroom and screamed in frustration. Her dark eyes were stormy; she was about ready to tear her long, thick dark hair from her scalp. It just refused to co-operate. Her scream sent her father in from the another room. He paused at the doorway once he realized his daughter wasn't in any danger, and he leaned there, watching her for a moment before speaking. 

"Cheryl, what's wrong?" 

The slim young woman turned and looked at her father. She had known, instinctively, that he was there, so his words didn't startle her. She sighed and then looked back at the mirror. "I can' get it right." 

"Your hair?" Fifolet asked, raising his eyebrows. 

"Oui. It has to be perfect...de dance is in an hour! It has to be perfect..." Cheryl's voice trailed off. She caught her father's gaze through the mirror and sighed again. "Why did Mama have to take Sebastien an' Reilly to dat stupid movie? She could help me." 

Fifolet laughed. "Your mother took Sebastien an' Reilly to de movie b'cause dey wanted to go an' Questa couldn' take dem. An' what am I, chopped liver? Or haven' you noticed dat you didn' get your hair from jus' your mother?" 

"I know, I know...but you never do anythin' wit' your hair. How can you fix mine?" Cheryl groaned. "We don' have much time." 

"Oh now, I don' know..."Fifolet deadpanned, crossing to where the brush had fallen and picking it up, his own long, dark hair falling over his shoulders as he did so. "Trust me, ma fille. Trust me. If you don' like what I do wit' it, you can go ask Bella Donna to help you, okay?" 

Cheryl sat in the chair at her dresser with a sigh of resignment and nodded. "Okay." 

Twenty minutes and much silent cursing later, Fifolet spun the chair around and allowed his daughter to see the final result. Cheryl's eyes widened as she looked in the mirror. "Oh Papa! I didn' know you could do dat! It's perfect!" 

"Been watchin' your mother do her hair for a long, long time. I've never actually done it b'fore myself, but I picked up on a few t'ings from watchin' her. Dat's all." Fifolet admitted. "Does it meet wit' your ideals for de dance?" 

"I already said it was perfect, Papa, t'ank you!" Cheryl exclaimed, throwing her arms around her father excitedly. "Now de dance will be perfect too! Now...if J.P. an' Mattie could be perfect tonight too...it would be brilliant." 

"Cheryl..." Fifolet began. 

"Oh Papa, gimme a break. Dey're dull, quiet, borin' an' really quite geeky. I can' expect anythin' more or less from dem. Dat's jus' who dey are. It's annoyin'. No one likes 'em at school, I don' see why dey're goin' anyway." Cheryl commented lightly, smiling brightly as she finished her makeup. Fifolet knew his daughter very well, and knew she meant every word she said. 

"Den why are you insistin' dat dey go? Why humiliate dem in front of de whole school jus' to make yourself look good?" he asked, just as lightly. Neither one of them realized they were being listened to from outside the room. 

"Dat's it exactly. Dey're dull, I'm not. If dey're wit' me, people will notice me more b'cause I'll stand out 'gainst dem." Cheryl admitted cheerfully, not caring that she was being extremely superficial. She was beautiful and she knew it. She didn't see any reason not to use it to her full advantage. 

Fifolet suddenly sensed a presence in the dark shadows of the hallway outside his daughter's room and he looked at the door. He wasn't surprised to find a pair of piercing yellow eyes looking back at him, glowing in anger. "Do you need somethin', Carson?" he asked, deciding to just get the confrontation he knew was coming over with. 

The lanky thirteen-year-old emerged from the shadows. He reminded Fifolet of long-ago days before the once rival Thieves and Assassins Guilds joined into one guild, back when Carson's uncle Remy LeBeau was a teenager. They looked almost identical, same unruly auburn hair, same haunting eyes. Only Remy's eyes were red-on-black while Carson's were yellow in color. Fifolet wondered, not for the first time, just where in the gene pool the yellow came from, as the teen stood before them. After all, Emil's eyes were blue, and Jackie's were purple. Yellow didn't seem to fit, yet it fit Carson perfectly. 

"You're usin' 'em. Simply to make yourself look good. Neither one of dem wants to go an' dey shouldn' have to." Carson said to Cheryl, his voice quiet. "How selfish can you be?" 

Cheryl stared at the younger teen, her brown eyes clouding over with animosity. She and Carson had never gotten along, mainly because he tended to confront her about things, while J.P. and Mattie usually went along with things for the sake of peace. One thing that irked Cheryl about Carson more than anything was the fact that her own thirteen-year-old brother, Sebastien, was the mutant teen's best friend. "I don' have to answer to you for anythin' Carson. Mind your own business." 

"Actually, I am mindin' my own business." Carson replied, remaining calm and as unconfrontational as possible. He wasn't afraid of Fifolet, in spite of the man's reputation as a trained professional killer, but he didn't want to cause any problems within the Guild family. "My sister is my business. So is J.P. All I'm sayin' is, I don' t'ink you should be usin' dem like dis. Dere's no reason why you can' go to de dance by yourself an' you know it. Please don' humiliate dem. We're s'posed to be a fam'ly, 'member?" 

Cheryl sighed and headed for the door. "Yeah whatever. You wouldn' understand. Why didn' you go to de movies wit' de others so you could leave me alone?" She left the room, leaving Carson and her father staring at each other, dumbfounded, not entirely sure where the mood-swings were coming from. 

"For what it's worth, I agree wit' you, kid." Fifolet commented. "But I t'ink it's somethin' de three of dem have to work out for demselves." 

"Yeah...I jus' hope it's not at someone's expense, y'know?" Carson agreed. 

To Be Continued... 

  



	2. Chapter Two

What Goes Around

(NOTE: Again, all characters you recognize belong to Marvel but live in my head. The ones you don't know too well belong to me and my not be used by anyone but me. Don't like it? Bite me. But please don't sue me because I have no money. Honest.) 

***** 

Chapter Two 

Mattie Lapin sighed and flopped down on her bed. Her dark red hair was a stark contrast to the yellow bedspread and pillow cases. She pillowed her head in her arms and stared at the ceiling of her room, thinking. It was in this position that her best friend in the whole world, Jean-Pierre Alouette, found her five minutes later. 

"You don' look like you're ready to go, Mattie." J.P. grinned, shoving his glasses up on his nose. The habit was as natural to him as it was to his father. He didn't look any more ready than she was, but she knew from past experience that it didn't matter to him if he went to a dance in jeans and a blue t-shirt. 

"Neither do you." Mattie laughed, sitting up. "But I would get ready if I could find somethin' to wear..." 

J.P.'s green eyes twinkled at his friend and he walked over to Mattie's closet with a laugh and started going through her clothes. "You have tons of clothes in here, Mattie. Surely dere's somethin' you can wear to a dance." 

"If I wanted to go to de dance, maybe. But I don'. Do you?" Mattie asked, joining him. 

"Well, non...but Cheryl wants us to go. So we should, b'cause she's our friend." J.P. replied, pulling a nice blue and white sweater out of the closet and holding it up in front of Mattie's face. "What 'bout dis?" 

"Yeah, so she can look good. An' I was gon' wear dese pants, mon ami. Dat don' exactly go wit' dem." 

J.P. groaned. "You're hopeless, y'know dat? Do you have any shirt dat goes wit' dose pants or did you jus' buy dem to be difficult?" 

"De shirt I bought dat goes wit' dem is in de washer." Mattie explained. "De only other t'ing dat goes wit' dem is dat stupid tube top Carson got me as a joke for my birthday an' you know I can' leave de house in dat..." 

"Why not?" J.P. laughed. He knew as well as Mattie did that her father would never allow her to go out to a school dance or any place else in that shirt. Emil Lapin tried to be as fair as he could about things when it came to his children, but he was also a typical over-protective father and proud of it. 

Mattie raised her eyebrows. "You know de answer to dat as well as I do, J.P.! I can hear Papa now...oy...I guess I'm jus' gon' have to change my pants, huh?" 

"Yup. Dose white ones you have would look good wit' dis sweater..." J.P. commented as someone knocked on the door. Both teens turned to find J.P.'s father, Genard, standing in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. 

"Hey Papa. Somethin' wrong?" J.P. asked. It amazed Mattie, not for the first time in her life, that the family genes were so strong. She knew she looked almost identical to her father, and the same could be said about J.P. and Genard. The only real difference between them was eye color. J.P. had inherited his green eyes from his mother, who died giving birth to him. Genard had brown eyes that actually made a nice contrast to his blond hair. 

Genard looked at Mattie. "May I come in?" 

"Duh. Of course you can." Mattie consented. Genard was her godfather, and she had a special relationship with him. She could tell him things sometimes that she couldn't tell her parents. Likewise, Mattie knew, sometimes J.P. could talk to her parents about things when he found it hard to go to his father. Godparents were such great people. 

"T'anks." Genard joined them and sat down on the chair at Mattie's computer desk. "I jus' ran into Cheryl downstairs, she seemed pretty upset. Are you guys still goin' to de dance tonight?" 

"Yeah...unfortunately." J.P. replied. "Why? Jus' b'cause she seems upset don' mean nothin'. She's upset on a daily basis." 

"Be nice, Jean-Pierre." Genard scolded slightly. "I was jus' wondering if your plans were still on, dat's all. She was really excited 'bout de dance earlier." 

Mattie frowned for a moment. "My brother prob'ly said somethin' to her she didn' like, or somethin'. We all know de two of dem really don' like each other. I wouldn' worry 'bout it too much. She can take care of herself." 

"True. Well maybe you two can cheer her up tonight, huh? Or would dat be askin' too much?" 

"I guess we can. We'll jus' dress de way we normally do an' be ourselves. Dat always makes her happy, b'cause it makes her seem even more beautiful to everyone else." Mattie laughed. "She can be pretty superficial." 

"Maybe dere's a reason for dat." Genard suggested. "But I'll leave you two to finish gettin' ready. Jus' t'ink 'bout dis, okay? An' have a good time. Dat's most important." 

"Okay, we will. Oh, an' de dance ends at 1..." J.P. said. "Zoe said she'd come pick us up so you don' have to wait up or anythin'." 

"Dat's good to know, t'anks." Genard smiled. He was very happy that the teens were being responsible and mature enough to cover all the bases. 

***** 

Cheryl was just about to go up to see what was taking Mattie and J.P. so long when she heard a car pull into the driveway. That told her the movie was over and her mother, brother and cousin were home. She decided to wait and see them before going up to get J.P. and Mattie. 

Desiree Singer Boudreaux, known in the Guild family as Singer, barely had time to get the front door open when two excited but tired adolescents pushed their way past her. Singer just shook her head, her long, dark hair swaying around her slim shoulders, and smiled tolerantly at her thirteen-year-old son, Sebastien, and Reilly, the twelve-year-old daughter of her first cousin Questa. She had to laugh as they tried to tell Cheryl all about the movie, and she dismissed them. 

When the young people left for upstairs, Singer looked at her daughter. "Your hair is lovely, Cherie. How did you do dat?" 

Cheryl laughed. "I didn'. Papa did. He said he picked up a few tricks from watchin' you all dese years." 

"Well now, I t'ink I'm gon' have to get him to do my hair from now on too!" Singer laughed, before growing serious again. "You know, you shouldn' treat dose two like dat. Dey're your family." 

"I know, Mama, I know. I'll go 'pologize b'fore we leave for de dance." Cheryl conceded. "But I really didn' wan' know 'bout de movie right now..." 

"You could have at least humored dem." Singer chided. "But is everythin' okay? You don' seem jus' right. You were more excited 'bout de dance b'fore we left earlier." 

"I'm fine. I have to go get J.P. an' Mattie. It's almost time to go. I'm jus' in a hurry, dat's all." Cheryl kissed her mother's cheek and headed back up the main safehouse staircase. 

Singer sighed as she hung her jacket up in the hall closet. "I wonder if dat's true or not." She didn't distrust her daughter, and knew Cheryl would talk to her if something serious was bothering her. She just had to be patient. With another sigh, she walked into the kitchen. For some reason she just felt like baking something. 

On her way to get Mattie and J.P., Cheryl paused at her brother's bedroom door and peeked into the room. She smiled at the younger teens. Sebastien was sitting backwards in his desk chair, his dark hair in a state of disarray from having just removed his baseball hat. He never usually took it off. He was playing a game on his computer. Their cousin Reilly was sprawled on her stomach on the bed, flipping through one of Sebastien's latest comic books, her black hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, her blue eyes focused intently on the comic. Both children looked up when they sensed Cheryl's presence. 

"We're goin' to de dance in a few minutes, I jus' wanted to apologize to you guys." Cheryl admitted, leaning in the doorway. "I shouldn' have been so short wit' you downstairs. I take it you enjoyed de movie." 

"Yeah." Reilly nodded, turning back to the comic book. "I wish Papa could have gone too t'ough." She suddenly tossed the book aside and jumped off the bed. "Have fun at de dance, Cherie." She said as she left the room. 

Sebastien looked at his sister, his hazel eyes thoughtful and concerned. "You look good, Sis. Blow 'em away at de dance." 

"Yeah...is she okay?" Cheryl was suddenly preoccupied with Reilly's behavior. She knew there was something going on, but she didn't have all de facts, so she didn't want to say anything, even to her brother. 

"She's fine. You know how close she an' Questa are. It's no big deal. Don' you have to go?" 

"Mmm...hey why're you an' Carson friends, anyway?" Cheryl asked, switching gears without missing a beat, deciding to put her concerns for Reilly out of her mind for the time being. She was more interested in finding out just what her brother saw in Carson Lapin. 

"We're de same age, for one t'ing." Sebastien grinned. "Look, I know you don' like him, an' frankly, he don' like you either, but don' let him get your goat. You guys don' have to be friends jus' b'cause he an' I are friends, okay? Jus' don' kill him, dat's all I ask." 

"Okay. I won'." Cheryl agreed. She was just about to go see where J.P. and Mattie were when they poked their heads into the room. 

"Um...Cher? Don' we have to go now? We're gon' be late." Mattie grinned. 

"Yeah. You're right." Cheryl agreed, silently happy at how plainly they were dressed. They wouldn't stand out in the crowd while she, on the other hand, looked outstanding. "Hey Sebastien, can we talk 'bout somethin' in de mornin'? It's kinda private." 

"Sure t'ing. Have a good time tonight, guys." 

***** 

While Cheryl, J.P. and Mattie were out at the school dance, Carson and Sebastien played computer games for awhile before their parents insisted they go to bed. And Reilly Devereaux got some news from her own parents that would change her life. 

Reilly had known for quite some time that her mother was sick. It was for that reason that her father hadn't taken her and Sebastien to the movies that evening. Questa had wanted to stay with Shelby while she waited for special test results to come back, but neither of them had wanted Reilly to miss out on the movie, so Questa had asked Singer to take them instead. 

Questa looked up when his daughter entered the room. He smiled at her lovingly. "Hey, how was de movie?" 

"It was awesome, of course." Reilly replied, giving him a huge hug. All her life, she was his little shadow. She idolized him and tried to imitate him constantly. It didn't hurt that she was a smaller, female version of him, with her messy black hair and dark blue eyes. "You would have loved it. How's Mom, is she okay?" 

Questa smiled again and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, she's fine. Actually, we both have something to tell you. Your mother's in de bedroom." 

Reilly went with her father into the master bedroom. Shelby was in bed, tucked up neatly under the green and gold bedspread with a smile on her face. Reilly went over and climbed up on the bed with her mother while Questa sat on the edge, facing them. 

"Okay, I'm confused, you guys." Reilly said. "Mom...if you're really fine like Papa says you are, den how come you had to take some tests an' how come you've been sick an' how come you're in bed at eight-t'irty?" 

"Oh sweetheart, I really am fine." Shelby comforted. "We promise. I'm just tired. I'm going to need your help from now on, okay, more than before." 

"Why?" Reilly asked. 

"B'cause she's gon' be needin' a lot of rest over de next few months, an' I can' do everythin'." Questa said, eying her closely for a reaction to the news that was about to come out. 

"Why?" the question was asked again. None of this was making any sense to Reilly and she just wished her parents would tell her what was going on. 

"Reilly...how would you feel about being a big sister?" Shelby asked. 

Reilly's jaw dropped. "How would I...I mean...what....what are you...Mom? Are you...?" 

Shelby and Questa smiled at their daughter. "Yeah." Questa said. "Dat's why she's been sick lately. Mercy got us a pregnancy test an' dat's why I couldn' take you to the movies. It came back positive." 

"Wow..." Reilly blinked. "When are you due, do you know yet?" 

"No, not yet. We called Remy in New York and he said he'd bring Dr. McCoy down here this weekend when he comes, so we can get a better idea." Shelby replied. "Honey, are you okay with this? I mean you're not saying much, you're just asking questions and blinking. Do you have any concerns?" 

"I'm jus' glad you're okay, an' de fact dat I'm gon' get a baby brother or sister out of dis in a few months...I'm okay with it. How couldn' I be? Yeah it'll be an adjustment, but so's everythin'. Can I go tell Sebasien an' Carson?" 

"Oh...can you wait until de mornin' to tell dem? We haven' tol' any of de others yet, an' we'd like dem to know first, if it's okay wit' you to keep quiet for a few more hours." Questa said. 

"Sure dat's fine. I can wait. It makes more sense, actually, b'cause Cheryl, Mattie an' J.P. will be here den too." Reilly agreed before yawning. "Actually, I'm tired...I t'ink it's time I go to bed too..." She hugged both her parents and danced into her bedroom with a light heart. She knew if this had happened a few years ago, she would have been jealous and angry over it, but now, she just couldn't wait. It was the best news she'd gotten in weeks and it topped off an already great evening. 

To Be Continued 

  



	3. Chapter Three

What Goes Around

(NOTE: If you recognize 'em from the comics, they're Marvels. If you know 'em from this story, they're mine. Period. More character development in this one, and we get to find out why Cheryl's acting the way she is. Yeah, the girl has her reasons.) 

Chapter Three 

The next morning, while most of the Guild members were celebrating the news of Shelby's pregnancy, Sebastien was heading into his sister's bedroom for that talk he promised her the night before. 

Cheryl was sitting on her bed waiting for him, wearing a pair of white pants and a dark blue long sleeved t-shirt. Her long dark hair was pulled back into an uncharacteristic ponytail. "Hey." 

"'Mornin', Sis. Did you hear de good news?"   
  
  
"Yeah. Lucky dem. Reilly's always hated bein' an only child. Now she won' be." Cheryl nodded. "I wonder what it will be...?" 

"I kinda hope it's a boy. I t'ink Questa would really love to have a son. We all know how much he loves Reilly." Sebastien commented, sitting in her desk chair and swinging his jean-clad legs back and forth. "So what did you wan' talk to me 'bout, anyway?" 

"Tell me somethin', would ya? Do you ever get de feelin' at school dat de rest of de kids hate us?" 

"You an' me or all of us in general?" 

"Humor me, bro." 

Sebastien laughed. "Okay, okay! In all honesty, I haven' really t'ought 'bout it. I mean, junior high is diff'rent den high school, 'member? Carson an' I tend to jus' stick together an' look out for Reilly when she needs it. Nothin' more, nothin' less. De kids don' ignore us, but dey also don' go out of deir way to be our friends. Why?" 

Cheryl sighed and looked at him. "Carson said somethin' to me las' night an' I wanted to mention it to you in case he said somethin'. He accused me of usin' Mattie an' J.P. to make myself look better. In a sense it's true, but it's not for de reasons he t'inks.Yeah I like to look good, an' yeah dey help do dat, but I'm not a selfish person, an' dey don' even know why I do it." 

"So why do you do it, den? If it's not jus' to use 'em? I mean you have friends, don' you? Why would you need to impress anyone by usin' J.P. an' Mattie? Dey don' appreciate it, an' I can kinda see why Carson would say somethin'. Sebastien said. 

"Dat's jus' de t'ing. I don' have friends. I have people who hang 'round me b'cause dey fear me. Dey don' like me but dey pretend to be b'cause I'm in dis stupid Guild. B'cause of who Papa an' Mama are. When I do stuff like gettin' Mattie an' J.P. to go to dances wit' me, it's my way of tryin' to get de kids to like me b'cause I'm beautiful instead of jus' toleratin' me b'cause of what our fam'ly could do to dem if dey didn'." Cheryl admitted. 

Sebastien's eyes widened as his sister was speaking and he stared at her in shock. He really hadn't known any of this was going on, and he doubted J.P. and Mattie had either. "Cherie, you gotta tell Mattie an' J.P. Dey may understand more'n you t'ink dey would." 

"Dey can' possibly understand!" Cheryl exclaimed bitterly. "Dey don' have any trainin' as killers. I do." 

"Non, but we do have trainin' as t'ieves." a voice commented from the doorway. Cheryl and Sebastien looked up to find Mattie standing there, a half-smile gracing her pale features. "Sorry for listenin', I didn' mean to. But I was walkin' by an' couldn' help overhearin'. Cheryl, you gotta look at de full picture. We're outcasts too, jus' b'cause of who we are, where we come from. De whole school knows it. Dere's nothin' we can do. All six of us have de trainin' of our respective Guild. Jus' b'cause none of us chose to b'come official members yet...dat don' change a t'ing as far as de kids at school go. Why do you t'ink no one has ever gotten mad at me for hackin' into de school computers, or upset wit' your little brother dere carryin' a knife to school? De whole city is terrified of makin' our parents mad. B'cause our parents are members of de Unified Guilds of T'ieves an' Assassins an' to everyone in dis city, dat means trouble." 

"Boy you sure do talk a lot, Lapin." Cheryl frowned. "You done?" 

Mattie raised her eyebrows and leaned on the wall just inside the door. "Maybe. Maybe not. But t'ink 'bout it. We're all in de same boat here." 

"I wonder why none of 'em have pressured any of us to officially join de Guild...?" Sebastien pondered aloud as he considered what Mattie had just told them. He knew she was right. So did Cheryl. It made perfect sense, like most of the things Mattie said. 

"I t'ink I can answer dat one." J.P. commented from the hallway outside. He poked his head in and grinned at them. "I t'ink dey look at de six of us as de only chance de Guild has to survive. Dey don' want to push us b'cause dey all grew up in de Guilds, dey all know what it's like. Dey want us to make our own choice, to b'come members or do our own t'ings." 

"Dey want us to have de choice dey never had..." Cheryl commented, nodding. "De only way dey could have gotten out of bein' members of de Guilds was if dey did somethin' dishonorable an' got kicked out. B'cause dey're de only ones left, dey don' want to push us into deir shoes even t'ough deep down dey really want us to. But don' dey realize dat it effects our lives whether we're in de Guild or not?" 

"Prob'ly. But dey never went to school, so maybe it's not occurin' to 'em." Mattie suggested. "Either way, it doesn' matter. Dis is somethin' we have to deal wit' without deir help." 

"Hey...um...do you guys ever want to jus' do it? Jus' join de Guilds an' get it over wit'?" Sebastien asked. 

"I do, I t'ink. When I'm done school. I wan' be either as good at computer stuff as Papa an' Theo, or better, b'fore I turn my life over to de Guild entirely." Mattie confided. "I can' speak for Carson t'ough. It's diff'rent for him. What 'bout you guys?" 

"I don' know if I do or not..." Cheryl admitted. "On de one hand, it would mean I'd never have any friends outside dis fam'ly, an' I don' know if I want dat. But on de other hand, it would give me one heck of an advantage over everyone else in de city, an' even de world. De more I t'ink 'bout it, de more I like dat idea." 

"I do." J.P. piped up. "I'm de only chance my father has of keepin' his name, his fam'ly, in de Guild. B'sides, I've been trainin' more lately. It's pretty cool. Even a little bit fun, sometimes. When Papa hasn' enlisted Claude to help train me, dat is." He laughed. "What 'bout you, Sebastien?" 

"I'm wit' you, J.P. It might have to wait for after graduation, but I want to, yeah." 

"I wonder what Carson an' Reilly t'ink of de idea?" J.P. asked, moving back into the hallway. 

"Las' time I saw Reilly she was outside shootin' hoops in de driveway. I don' know where Carson is." Mattie replied, joining him. "You guys wan' go find 'em?" 

"Sure." Cheryl replied. "Oh an' guys? For what it's worth, I'm sorry for de way I've treated you." 

"Don' worry 'bout it." J.P. grinned. "We do understand." 

***** 

As Mattie had predicted, the gang found Reilly in the driveway, getting extremely exasperated over the fact that she missed more shots than she got. She was dressed in one of her father's old T-shirts and a pair of cut-off jean shorts. She aimed the ball again and threw her hands up in despair when it bouced off the rim. Sebastien, who was a very good basketball player, laughed and went over to her. 

"Here. Try doin' it like dis." He took the ball, bounced it a few times and then shot it at the basket. It went in with a smooth swish and Reilly glared at him. 

"How do you do dat?" She demanded with a pout. 

"C'mere an' I'll show you." Sebastien grinned. Reilly joined him and he demonstrated in slow motion how to shoot the basketball in a smooth, swift move while the other three watched. In ten minutes they had been joined by Carson and the six of them were playing a three-on-three game, guys against girls. 

When the girls finally gave in and let the guys win after they'd been tied for most of the game, the six friends walked around to the backyard and climbed the large oak tree. That tree had been a refuge for members of the Thieves Guild for decades, and was now one of the teenagers' favorite places to hang out. The six teens lounged in the thick leafy branches in silence for a few moments before Mattie brought up the conversation that had been started earlier. 

"De rest of us were talkin' 'bout somethin' earlier an' we wanted your opinions." She said to her brother and Reilly, taking her long red hair out of the ponytail she'd put it in for the basketball game. 

"What's dat?" Carson asked, his deep yellow eyes giving him a somewhat cat-like appearance in de shadowy greeness of the oak tree. 

"Do you guys ever want to b'come official members of de Guild?" J.P. asked. 

Carson remained quiet, lost in thought. Mattie tried to read his thoughts, but was unsuccessful. It didn't take Reilly long to give her answer though. 

"Oui. I do, definitely. I know Papa's gone t'rough a lot of crap, but I also know how much bein' a Guild member means to him. So I wan' do right by him even if Mama wasn' in de Guilds." 

"Does dat part bother you?" Sebastien asked. 

"No, why should it? Mama never cared what Papa did, she loves him anyway. She'd still love me if I chose to take de tests tomorrow. Of course I'm not ready to take 'em tomorrow, but I was talkin' to Bella Donna an' she t'inks if I work hard at trainin', I could do it by de time I'm sixteen. Maybe even fifteen. So I'm gon' start trainin' more." Reilly explained. 

"Carson, what 'bout you?" J.P. questioned. He had been going to wait and see if Cheryl would do it, but he got the distinct impression from the beautiful young woman that she wouldn't do it. 

"Honestly? I don' know." He replied, absently fiddling with a loose string on the hem of his black t-shirt. "I'd kinda like to see what else de world has to offer me, y'know?" 

"I can understand dat..." Mattie commented thoughtfully. She knew their mother and their Uncle Remy wanted Carson to find his own way, figure out his place in the world as a mutant. If that meant him having to leave for awhile to find himself, then that was fine. 

"What did you guys d'cide?" Carson asked, turning everyone's attention away from him, just the way he liked it. He hated being under intense scrutiny, even if the people doing the scrutinizing were his best friends. 

"We all more or less want to, eventually." Sebastien replied. "I don' know 'bout de rest of you guys, but right now, I jus' wan' be a kid an' have fun. We can join de Guild whenever. But if we throw away our youth, de way dey all had to, we'll regret it for de rest of our lives. Kinda de way dey do." 

"Yeah. Dat's partly why I don' know if I really want to or not." Cheryl confided. "I t'ink Carson has a good idea...go see what de world has to offer, away from here. It's really not such a bad idea, if you t'ink 'bout it." 

Carson's piercing yellow-on-black eyes looked at Cheryl intently. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Did I jus' hear what I t'ink I jus' heard?" 

J.P. grinned. "Yup. I t'ink you did." 

"Oh c'mon! I'm allowed to t'ink you have a good idea even if I don' like you too much." Cheryl laughed. "I'm not entirely a horrible person y'know." 

A voice drifted up through the leaves. "Dat's de catch. No one in dis Guild is a horrible person." Remy LeBeau told them. Aside from being Mattie and Carson's uncle, Remy was patriarch of the Guild. He had come back to New Orleans earlier than anticipated when both he and Dr. McCoy realized they had the chance to take off early from their duties at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. "All de really bad ones are dead. De rest of us are jus' misunderstood by society, if you wan' call it dat. Ever since de two guilds unified in 2000, t'ings have been fairly peaceful, but de rest of de people in de world can' stop lookin' at us as de criminals we are. It's somethin' we've learned to deal wit'. In time, you will too." 

Reilly looked at him. "Remy! Did you bring Dr. McCoy wit' you? Mama an' Papa said you guys couldn' come until dis weekend..." 

"So we're two days early, Reilly. But yeah he's here. He's examinin' your mother as we speak. You excited 'bout b'comin' a big sister?" 

"Yah." Reilly replied, climbing down as quickly as she could. The others remained where they were, and Remy followed Reilly inside. 

***** 

Upstairs in the safehouse, Dr. McCoy had just finished examining Shelby and showing her and Questa an ultrasound of their baby. Reilly timidly peeked in and when Dr. McCoy saw her, he smiled. Reilly almost laughed. She always thought the big, blue-furred mutant doctor looked funny when he smiled. But he was one of the nicest people she'd ever met, and was glad he was looking after the members of her family. 

"Reilly! Come on in. Would you like to take a look at the baby?" Dr. McCoy asked her cheerfully. 

"Really? Yeah." Reilly nodded, walking over and taking a look at the screen as the image of the fetus appeared again. It was amazing to her how clear it was, even though the baby was still very young. She pointed to a spot on the image. "Is dat it?" 

"Sure is. You have good eyes. Now, I have some information for you." Dr. McCoy told them, turning the ultrasound machine off. "Shelby, it's a wonder you didn't figure this out earlier. You're about three months along. Which puts the due date in early December. Looks like you'll have your new addition in time for Christmas." 

"That is wonderful news!" Shelby said. She smiled at her husband and daughter and found matching smiles on their faces as well, which delighted her to no end. "Anything else we should know?" 

"Everything appears to be in perfect order with the baby, and as the next few months go by, I'll be able to give you a better idea of a due date." Dr. McCoy explained. "I now want to ask you a question." 

"What's dat?" Questa asked, curious. 

"Do you want to know the baby's sex?" 

Three pairs of eyes widened in amazement, but they remained in silent shock. It was Reilly who asked the question for them. "You know dat already?" 

"As a matter of fact, yes I do. But it's up to your parents to decide if they wish to know as well, or if they want to wait and be surprised when the baby is born." Dr. McCoy told her. 

"What did dey do when dey were havin' me?" Reilly pressed. 

"I'll answer dat one." Questa laughed. "We got him to tell us. For de record, your mother would have been happy to be surprised when you were born, but I couldn' wait dat long. I had to know. An' we never regretted de decision. Shel, what do you t'ink?" 

"I think he should tell us, so we can start thinking of the baby as a person, give him or her a name, start getting the nursery ready...again...do you know, it's been twelve years since that nursury was used? It's going to be so nice to have a baby in the house again." Shelby said, a dreamy look on her face. 

"Is that the final decision?" Dr. McCoy asked. 

Shelby and Questa looked at each other and then at Reilly, who was nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah, I guess it is." Questa laughed. 

"Well in that case, congratulations, you're having a boy." 

To Be Continued 


End file.
